But defense attorney Josephine Townsend said Kamaya might have died from natural causes, such as her sickle-cell anemia, or from a methadone pill that she could have picked up while at another relative’s home.

Townsend said the girl’s broken ribs were caused by CPR.

McWoods is charged with murder by abuse. If convicted, he would be sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of release after 25 years.